Govt defends plan to import Indian beef and buffalo<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government defended on Tuesday its plan to
\nimport beef and buffalo meat from India to compensate for local
\nmarket shortfall despite heated opposition from industry and
\nconsumer associations.<\/p>\n
State Minister of Food Affairs and Horticulture AM Saefuddin,
\nspeaking to the media after meeting with President B.J. Habibie,
\nsaid the plan was intended to ensure an adequate supply of meat
\nat affordable prices on the domestic market.<\/p>\n
He said Aurangabad, the Indian regency set to export the meat
\nto Indonesia, boasted a decades-long track record of exporting
\nbuffalo meat to 53 countries, including Malaysia's Sarawak state
\nand Brunei Darussalam.<\/p>\n
"Whether the Indian meat contains contagious diseases is only
\na matter of hygiene requirements in international trade. God
\nwilling, a team assigned by Minister of Agriculture Soleh
\nSolahuddin will study the matter and find the truth," he said.<\/p>\n
Saefuddin said the Indians offered the bufallo meat for about
\nRp 11,000 per kilogram.<\/p>\n
"It means that the meat could be sold at around Rp 14,000 per
\nkilogram on the market, far below the price of local beef and
\nAustralian meat which currently sells at Rp 30,000 to Rp 35,000
\nper kilogram."<\/p>\n
Saefuddin said the country faced a shortage of meat during
\nChristmas, New Year's, the Ramadhan fasting month and Idul Fitri
\nfestivities, all of which fell during December and January.<\/p>\n
"During that time, we could only supply 38,000 tons of beef
\nwhile demand reached over 50,000 tons."<\/p>\n
Soleh Solahuddin announced earlier he would send an
\nindependent team to India to study the possibility of importing
\nbeef and bufallo meat. The decision to import will depend on the
\nresults of the team's investigation.<\/p>\n
"If the team says Indian meat is not hygienic, we will cancel
\nthe plan. But please be objective in this matter and do not
\nintimidate people with bombastic statements."<\/p>\n
He said the team would comprise scholars, veterinarians and
\nthe ministry's officials.<\/p>\n
Soleh said the country imported between 400,000 tons and
\n500,000 tons of beef from Australia annually, but its cost was
\nnow exorbitant for many Indonesians.<\/p>\n
"We are very dependent on Australian beef. Why don't we import
\nbeef from another market which can offer us cheaper prices when
\nour people cannot afford to buy Australian meat anymore? However,
\nwe haven't decided who the importers will be."<\/p>\n
A source at the Ministry of Agriculture said the planned
\nimporter of the meat was a company linked to a minister.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Veterinary Association (PDHI)
\nlambasted the plan, saying the move carried too many risks for
\nthe introduction of contagious diseases.<\/p>\n
PDHI chairman Sri Dadi Wiryosuhanto said India's cattle
\nindustry had yet to eradicate harmful livestock disorders like
\nfoot-and-mouth disease and rinderpest, the highly contagious
\nbovine pleuropneumonia.<\/p>\n
The Office of International des Epizooties (OIE) -- dealing
\nwith epizootiology, the study of epidemics among animals -- ranks
\nrinderpest the most dangerous animal disease in the world, with a
\n90 percent mortality rate, Sri said.<\/p>\n
"According to OIE, India has not been declared free from these
\ndiseases."<\/p>\n
Indonesia eradicated the disease in 1990 after an outbreak
\ndecimated the country's cattle population in 1987.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Consumers Foundation also lambasted the
\ngovernment plan, demanding a rethink of the "insensible
\ndecision".<\/p>\n
The foundation agreed that importing meat from India could
\nintroduce harmful and contagious diseases into the country, with
\na particularly pronounced liability due to low standards in meat
\nmonitoring and control in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Meat Producers and Feedlot (Apfindo) said potential
\ncontamination of the Indian meat might threaten local cattle with
\ndisease.<\/p>\n
Apfindo chairman Nurendro Trikesowo warned the plan could hurt
\nthe local cattle industry's fledging efforts to export beef.<\/p>\n
"If the imported meat from India spread diseases to our
\ncattle, we would never be able to enter the export market."
\n(gis\/prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-defends-plan-to-import-indian-beef-and-buffalo-1447893297",
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